The Art of Breaking Bread and Sharing the Surplus

Exploring An Urban Oasis: The Ecology Center With Johnathan Zaidman

Story by

Valentina Scaife

"The process of providing for people's needs within ecological limits requires a cultural revolution."

– David Holmgren, Permaculture Principles, and Pathways Beyond Sustainability

In most cultures, "devour and scatter" simply doesn't exist. The best memories are made around the table, fire, or any other way of congregating for a meal. As an Italian, the importance of food and nourishment was understood from a young age. The weekly ritual of "Sunday Sauce" was our birthright in which every family member contributed and shared. Inherited from a lineage of farmers, "Sunday Sauce" was the tradition of sourcing ingredients from our farm or local market. It was the transfer of "how-to's" like hand-making pasta and rolling the best meatballs on the East Coast! It was the kitchen backsplash, covered in red splatters as homemade tomato sauce bubbled for hours over the stove. Somewhere between laughter and loudness, we told stories, we drank my grandfather's wine– we danced! And every Sunday, those family members who were still with us gathered.

Since the beginning of time, human behavior has always revolved around food. Meals have shaped the cultural heritage of Indigenous America to the furthest tip of East Asia. Ceremonies have been historically assigned, whether it be how women foraged for berries, men hunted wild game, or how after-dinner celebrations led to dancing barefoot around a pit.

But today, a bleak, gray shroud conceals once rainbow-colored customs. Conventional agriculture dismantled the intricate human connection existing around food traditions. "Sunday Sauce" has become a distant memory as capitalism and industrialization crept away with what we value most. Inequality and food insecurity has paralyzed culinary heritage as families struggle to find food as simple as rice or grains. Ethical principles in agroecology and regenerative agriculture force these tough conversations to the surface. To reinstate what was stolen from our livelihoods, we need a complete overhaul of the food system as we know it. Only then can humankind restore the celebration of having bread to break bread.

Food is a Human Right

Current industrial food systems are disjointed; on the one hand, billions of people face famine and hunger. In 2020, the FAO estimated that between 720 and 811 million people faced starvation. One in three people did not have adequate access to food, and two billion suffer from micronutrient deficiencies. On the other hand, tons of food cycles through landfills, and billions of people experience food-related diseases such as obesity and heart disease.

Undeserving Women and Girls

Hunger and malnutrition disproportionately affect persons who identify as women and girls. In nearly two-thirds of countries worldwide, gender inequality is a primary factor in food deprivation for women. One causation reported by the World Food Program references "deep-rooted" gender norms in developing countries, one in which women eat last, eat without diversity, or sacrifice food entirely. This phenomenon occurs despite women requiring the same amount of nutrition as men– while doing 2.6 times more (unpaid) domestic work.

The second causation identified man-made conflict as the number one driver of hunger on the planet, primarily harming women and girls. In developing countries, women earn 23% less than men. When war strikes, they become the head of the household and, with a low salary, sacrifice their well-being to feed their families. Lastly, the lack of women's rights amplifies the effects of food inequality. Despite making up half of the world's agricultural workers, women produce 20-30% less due to a lack of farming resources such as tools, technology, and information. Without decision-making powers, the ability to own land, or access to education, women are unable to reach their true potential in society. When women are stripped of their equal rights, the world suffers, and sustainability becomes a concept frozen in time.

Empowering Women

Women, and persons identifying as such, are the key to ending world hunger and food insecurity. On average, women and girls reinvest about 90% of their income back into the household while men reinvest 30-40%. They contribute to maintaining the home by purchasing food, cleaning equipment, medicine, and education supplies. Dedication to the household amplifies their consciousness of sustainable agro-practices intended to mitigate adverse health implications on their families. Women are also multi-generational guardians of the land and cultural heritage, one that is an innate part of their being. Thus, Women are at the literal heart of all agrosystems.

When not constrained by inequalities, women and girls become a resource cohort for transferring knowledge such as seed-saving, water storage, seasonal planting, and harvesting. Supporting them in agriculture will enhance productivity and technological advances, decreasing the number of people living in hunger and poverty by 100-150 million.

Agroecology Repairs A Broken Food System

“Agroecology is instrumental for realizing 12 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, including the reduction of poverty and hunger; and, because it requires fewer external inputs and shortens value chains, agroecology empowers farmers and local communities." - United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP)

Ethical principles in regenerative agriculture and agroecology recognize food as a human right and highlight the importance of protecting and preserving agrobiodiversity to maintain this right.

‍"You look at the Latinx practice of the milpa planting, corn beans, and squash…. That's beautiful, that's permaculture, and they've been doing it for thousands of years [. . .] For thousands of years, the planet was not in a state of ecological decline. So they had something right. It's not a conversation on anything outside greed, industrialization, and the un-democratization of all living systems– where very few control very much. That's not equitable." - Jonathan Zaidman.

"Director-General of the FAO José Graziano da Silva states that biodiversity is 'critical for safeguarding global food security, underpinning healthy and nutritious diets, improving rural livelihoods, and enhancing the resilience of people and communities.'"

According to the FAO, more than 90 percent of crop varieties have "disappeared from farmers' fields." As of 2014, only nine plant species (sugar cane, maize, rice, wheat, potatoes, soybeans, oil-palm fruit, sugar beet, and cassava) account for 66% of total crop production by weight despite there being over 30,000 edible plant species on Earth.

Like soil, there needs to be biodiversity in what we eat. Director-General of the FAO José Graziano da Silva states that biodiversity is "critical for safeguarding global food security, underpinning healthy and nutritious diets, improving rural livelihoods, and enhancing the resilience of people and communities." Agroecology not only maximizes plant biodiversity but makes plants more resilient, thereby less likely to go extinct. Encouraging the biomimicry of systems found within nature enhances the chances of mimicry of "wild plants" on farms. Eating "wild plants" can alleviate micronutrient deficiencies, boosting the immune system and providing a full scope of nutrition while nourishing the planet.

Mending Food Inequality with Johnathan Zaidman

A working question posed– how do we reconnect communities to what's ancestrally and indigenously theirs? It all circles back to having a living relationship with food, one that is tangible– seen, touched, smelled, and tasted.

Behind The Plate

On the opposite end of the spectrum, The Ecology Center offers Orange County a unique culinary tradition. Every Friday night, well-renowned chefs come in from different areas of California and Baja California Sur to create a feast celebrating the culinary heritage of human connection.

"I see it as the opposite of the 90's celebrity chef movement, where it's like. Get me asparagus from Japan and cod from Peru! You know, none of that is interesting anymore. There are well-recognized and visible chefs who are like, "give me what's fresh, local, organic, sustainable, and seasonal– that I can see right in front of me. Let me make a meal with just that."

This intimate weekly occasion has drawn all types of visitors from near and far. Jonathan Zaidman considers The Ecology Center to be a lightning rod for the culinary movement in Southern California, attracting the likes of progressives in the sustainable food movement.

"It's a different chef every week who is a leader in their movement, a master in their craft. They're taking time to get out of their kitchen, prepare a meal on a farm in front of 64 people, and cook on fire, with everything coming from 250 feet away or less… It becomes an opportunity for us to change culture and change behavior through that which people are very comfortable with."

Sure, people could come to the farm for a permaculture class, seed-saving workshop, or to volunteer with the market garden and learn some skill building. The Community Table Series offers an authentic experience to see where each element of food is grown, watch chefs create culturally significant meals, and gather where stories and laughter are shared. Around the table, the community is reminded of how to break bread with neighbors and share in the abundance of flavors coming from right under their feet; a beautiful expression of "what's behind the plate" and seasonal giving.

Peace Pizza and the Farm Stand

"I realize and am very sensitive to the fact that not everybody is doing the "almost private dinner on a farm" [. . .] We try to have a counterbalance as far as an accessibility standpoint because that's a luxury offering. So, you can come two days a week to the farm to have Peace Pizza. Bring your family. Your kids can run around. Grab a pizza, grab a salad, grab a juice, all made from the farm, and have a nice time."

Peace Pizza on Thursdays and Saturdays is an alternative offering for those who want to experience the farm without committing to a farm dinner. Afterward, you can stop at the farm stand and collect the ingredients needed to make a "Peace Pizza" in the comfort of your own home. Except for cheese and a few others, all ingredients come directly from the farm.

"My family is from Mexico City. We have a very interesting relationship with food. The point is, by being able to showcase these beautiful culinary offerings, it becomes almost the gateway drug to people saying things like, "whoa, what if I ate like that at home, and how would I do that even?" Fortunately, we have a world-class farm stand where you don't need to guess anymore what's seasonal– you can just come to the farm stand. What's there is seasonal because that's what grew here."

While the thoughtfulness behind each program of The Ecology Center cannot be argued, there are other ways to interact with your local farm and community to experience similar offerings outside of Orange County. One of the best alternatives to experiencing a sliver of the Community Table Series is to visit a farm-to-table restaurant with your friends or family. Weekly, local, or seasonal farmers' markets are another great option for sourcing regenerative produce for a group meal or celebration. If you're feeling spontaneous, contact any local regenerative farms in your area and see if you're able to pick or source fresh produce directly from the land. With so many wonderful options available, it's important to remember that access to food is both a human right and a privilege. Individuals have the power to shift the course of a failing food system and make it equitable and regenerative for all.